On The Wire
by Ignite the Airwaves
Summary: VERY angsty songfic to Two Birds by Regina Spektor. Robin and Raven hopeless pairing. Oneshot. R&R!


**A/N- I couldn't resist a oneshot. This song is cute and extremely perfect for a Rob/Rae SUPER angsty ship. The song is Two Birds by Regina Spektor. I just saw her in concert, and the woman is insanely talented. And to be truthful, I changed a few he's to she's in the lyrics to better point out my meaning. I guess that's it.**

"Give me one good reason." His voice was cold, arms crossed in a way that made Raven want to slap him hard across the face, just for the resonating noise and the following shock. The fall from superiority.

"One good reason for what?" Her tone was equally cynical.

"Don't toy with me, Raven," he shot back, "Tell me just one reason why you refuse to be with me. And don't give me any bullshit. I don't want one of your cryptic messages; I just want the goddamn truth."

Raven chuckled, and Robin reached out, slapping her hard across the cheek. She stepped back from him, surprised and suddenly very grounded. Her hand lightly brushed the offended area. "Robin, you weren't always like this," she murmured, as if in a dream-like state.

He took hold of her wrist. "If you'd stop dodging me, maybe I'd go back to normal."

She looked at his wrist as if it greatly intrigued her, and her tongue darted for words.

"Robin, I just can't do it."

_Two birds on a wire.  
One tries to fly away and the other  
Watches him close from that wire  
She says she wants to as well but she is a liar_

"Raven, that's bullshit, and you know it." His grip on her wrist tightened, and she grimaced.

"Robin, we've been over this. My emotions will go rampant, I might destroy the city, the world!" She gestured to the already destroyed room, an example of her last encounter with the Boy Wonder. He had invaded her then, made her so angry- no, she would not dwell on it. That wouldn't do her much good. "The only way to ensure everyone's safety is for us to never be together!"

"Raven," his head came close to hers, and she felt his hot breath on her face, "When are you going to start being selfish?" He closed in, deep and masculine and sweet in his kiss as his lips crashed hard onto hers. He still held her wrist in one hand, but the other arm pulled around her waist, tugging her body close to his. Raven wanted to break away, she needed to breathe, but he wouldn't let her. He was enjoying this moment too much, and she knew that she could-no, she really couldn't. Right?

As his hand slid south, she pulled apart in shock.

The window shattered in onto the matted, brown-stained carpet.

_I'll believe it all  
there's nothing I won't understand  
I'll believe it all  
I won't let go of your hand_

He reluctantly broke their contact, a stricken expression on his face. "Raven, you're trying to mess with me. You fucking did that on purpose!" He shoved blindly at her.

"Robin…," she looked at him, now missing their brief moment of closeness. Attempting to compensate, she pulled her arms tight around herself, suddenly very cold and very small. It was an odd feeling, and Raven hated it. "I'm really trying. I want this. I want this more than anything."

"Do you really? Or are you just hiding from your feelings, Raven? Even worse, are you just hiding your weakness from me?!" His back was to her now, and more than anything she wanted to see his eyes- not those domino eyes, but the true things hiding behind that damned mask. She hadn't seen Robin without it yet, of course. And that made her angry as she supplied an argument rather than an answer.

"You lecture me about hiding, and you hide behind your mask!" she accused angrily, waving her finger at him in a fury. "You lecture us on never forcing someone, never hurting your friends. You're a hypocrite, Robin! And I'm not afraid to say it! The others, they listen to you, they obey you- they're just afraid to tell you what a hypocritical headcase you really are!" Raven did not regret the words when they came out. Instead, she felt powerful.

_Two birds on a wire.  
One says come on and the other says I'm tired.  
The sky is overcast and I'm sorry  
One more or one less, nobody worries._

"Robin, you just have to understand it," her voice was soft now, as the anger had run its course. "I haven't gained control. I'm too unstable for something like this, something so big. It's just too much for me to handle."

His head was in his hands. "Raven," he spoke through gritted teeth, "You're not trying. You had control before, but it's slipping now." He looked her in the face now. "Maybe I could help you! If you would just let me try, then-,"

"It's impossible."

"Stop doing that!" He screamed. "Raven, every time I try to get close to you-," His hand was on a lock of her hair, and for the smallest moment, he seemed interested in it, inspecting it carefully. Then with a hard tug, he pulled at it, and Raven fell to her knees, squinting up in surprise. "Robin?"

"Raven, I've given up. I have thrown away absolutely everything just so I could understand you, so I could help you. I'VE THROWN EVERYTHING AWAY! FOR YOU! AND YOU WON'T EVEN TRY!" Raven pressed her hands to her temples, eyes squeezed tight, willing the words away. For a second all that could be heard in the room was her erratic breathing.

_I'll believe it all  
there's nothing I won't understand  
I'll believe it all  
I won't let go of your hand_

"I'm leaving. I want to go find my life and get it back. I'm sorry if my feelings for you blinded me. I guess I wasted my time." He was leaving. No. He couldn't leave her. Not now, not in this broken red room. It was so cold here, and now she needed his warmth more than ever.

"Robin! Please, wait. I can try, I'll try! But I need your help!" she pleaded, now on all fours, desperately trying to hide her goddamned tears. "Please, for Azar's sake, don't leave me here!" He stopped walking, his figure a black shadow in the door. But still he did not turn to her.

"Raven. Give me one reason as to why I should turn around right now. Why this time it will be different. And don't you dare lie."

His words scared Raven in a way that made her unable to think. "I…I…Well…,"

"I thought so," Robin sounded defeated, but at the same time he accepted it. "Goodbye, Raven." He was almost out the door when Raven hoarsely yelled, "You're just like Batman, Robin! Just like him! Don't go cold! Don't desert me! I'm willing to try. Just please, help me! I need you."

A cool voice from the door. "Do you really?"

_Two birds of a feather  
Say that they're always gonna stay together  
But one is never going to let go of that wire  
She says that she will but she's just a liar_

"Robin..," she looked up in surprise. "How could you even ask me that? You know that, well- that I love you." Although she couldn't see it, his expression softened. She had never said those words before. They had kissed, yes. But she had never said it. He had been waiting for two years already. In two years, the world had died. And he had still been waiting.

He kneeled in front of her now, and roughly grasped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. "And are you ashamed of that?"

Her voice was breathy. "Ashamed of what?" For a moment he needed to claim her, kiss her, have her. But he couldn't. The moment was too important.

She blinked for a long moment, as if hiding from his gaze.

"Ashamed to feel for me."

"No, Robin, never."

"If you lie to me, I'll have to kill you."

She was inclined to chuckle; but when she looked him in the eyes, she saw that he wasn't joking. For a moment she was afraid- what if she couldn't stay, what if she lost control yet again? If that happened, then she wouldn't survive- whether he killed her, or she killed herself.

_Two birds on a wire.  
One tries to fly away and the other  
Watches him close from the wire  
She says she wants to as well but she is a liar_

Raven looked at him long and hard. "I love you, but- but I can't promise anything." The words hurt, but she didn't want to lie anymore. She could handle telling a lie; she just couldn't handle a lie being discovered by him. So many times had he stood in the doorway, so many times had she pleaded to draw him back.

Crawling. Spineless. Worming.

She was disgusted with herself. Was this what she had become? He had to help her become her old self- but wait, no! The idea of his aid was just bringing her to another circle. Another damned cycle. She had to break out somehow, but she was afraid. The almighty Raven was afraid. And that scared her all the more.

His eyes softened, but his tone was firm, "Raven that's not enough for me. I'm sorry, but I can't wait for you to stabilize any longer. I've given you years, and I may love you, but Raven- you've still given me nothing." And his silhouette diminished as she reached out a blind arm, forever extended, grasping aimlessly to the doorway.

_Two birds on a wire.  
One tries to fly away and the other…_


End file.
